Greed (1924 Erich von Stroheim & co-scr)

Terrific, epic, powerful, anguishing meditation on title subject. Four hour version of original nine hour lost masterpiece, using the (plenty of) stills and titles from missing sections. Would think the edited two hour version must be quite hard to follow.

Good restored version (1999) has lots of tinting and a good score by Robert Israel. Slight carp - wouldn't have used Ken Burns on photos as it's inconsistent with the surviving film.

Gibson Gowland rather good as the brutish McTeague, who loves birds, but is going to end up like his father - a drunken bum. Or would he, given different circumstances? Impossible not to feel sorry for him, in fact. Zasu Pitts good too as wife who wins the lottery and becomes incredibly miserly - won't even give her husband bus fare to find work in the rain. Will starve rather than spend her stash.

Jean Hersholt (Marcus), Dale Fuller (Maria), Cesare Gravina (junk man), Frank Hayes (nice old man), Chester Conklin (father-in-law).

Frank Norris wrote the 1899 novel, adapted by von Stroheim and June Mathis. Produced by MGM. Good, interesting filming (particularly liked shot on stairs, from beneath, with Mac in foreground and her at the top in background - very modern; also extreme close-ups). Shot by Ben Reynolds and William H Daniels. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the public hated it.

A funeral parade outside a wedding ceremony.  When he kisses her when she's unconscious. Two birds in a cage. A cat. The incredible irony of that famous ending in Death Valley. And those hand tinted gold scenes:

Lots of stuff would have gone missing - bloody fight between Mac and Marcus, constant interplay between Maria and the junk man - and his death with a bag of rusty plates. And the sweet old couple who can hear every sound in each other's rooms - two rooms that were once one (and the old man has rescued their wedding photo .... ) It's gruellingly powerful, really gets under the skin, somehow.